Person support apparatuses with communication channel monitoring

ABSTRACT

A monitoring system includes one or more units that are adapted monitor the radio frequency conditions of a facility or portion of the facility. The units include a packet sniffer and/or an RF spectrum analyzer. Sniffed packets and spectrum data are recorded and made available for analysis and display, either locally on the units or at one or more remote locations. The locations of the units are also gathered, thereby enabling correlation of the sniffed packets and/or RF spectrum data with locations within the facility. Real time RF conditions can thereby be gathered and used to improve the wireless communications within the facility and/or to ensure the wireless communication infrastructure of the facility is operating satisfactorily. The units may be person support apparatuses, such as beds, chairs, stretchers, cots, or the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/299,822 filed Mar. 12, 2019, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al.and entitled PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH COMMUNICATION CHANNELMONITORING, which in turn claims priority to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/279,918 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,257,063) filed Sep. 29, 2016,by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled PERSON SUPPORTAPPARATUSES WITH COMMUNICATION CHANNEL MONITORING, which in turn claimspriority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/236,452filed Oct. 2, 2015, by inventors Jerald Trepanier et al. and entitledPERSON SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH COMMUNICATION CHANNEL MONITORING, thecomplete disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to medical devices, such as personsupport apparatuses, that are used in medical facilities, such ashospitals and the like.

Medical facilities often use a plurality of devices that communicatewirelessly. Such communication often includes WiFi communication,Bluetooth communication, and/or other wireless protocols. In order forthe devices to be able to successfully communicate with each other, itis desirable that the wireless communication signals are not subjectedto undue interference from electromagnetic waves emanating from othercommunicating devices, from background noise, or from other sources.

SUMMARY

A person support apparatus, according to at least one embodiment,includes an RF spectrum analyzer and/or a packet sniffer that providesRF spectrum analysis of the radio frequency signals detectable by theperson support apparatus and/or packet traffic data regarding wirelesslycommunicated packets that are detectable by the person supportapparatus. In some embodiments, a plurality of such person supportapparatuses are positioned throughout all or a portion of a medicalfacility and the spectrum analysis and/or packet data gathered from theperson support apparatuses are communicated to one or more userinterfaces. The communicated data also includes data indicating thelocation of the person support apparatuses. The user interface therebyeffectively provides users with an RF site survey and/or report ofnetwork traffic throughout the facility, or portion of the facility.

Such RF site survey data and/or network traffic data can be generatedrepeatedly and/or continuously, thereby providing appropriate personnelof the medical facility with sufficient information to determine whetherto make changes to the communication infrastructure of the facility. Thedata gathered from the person support apparatuses therefore enables suchpersonnel to ensure that the appropriate coverage and bandwidth areavailable at all desired areas of the facility. Still further, in someembodiments, the person support apparatuses may use the RF spectrumanalysis data and/or packet data to adjust their own communications inorder to reduce interference and/or to reduce loads on communicationpathways.

According to a first embodiment, a system is provided that includes aplurality of person support apparatuses and each of the person supportapparatuses is associated with a radio frequency (RF) spectrum analyzeradapted to gather RF spectrum data. The system further includes at leastone user interface. The user interface is in communication with theplurality of person support apparatuses and is adapted to receive the RFspectrum data from the RF spectrum analyzers. The user interface therebyprovides RF spectrum to one or more suitable personnel.

According to a second embodiment, a system is provided that includes aplurality of person support apparatuses wherein each of the personsupport apparatuses includes a packet sniffer. The packet snifferdetects packets transmitted over a first communication channel betweenan access point and a first device other than the person supportapparatus. The system further includes a user interface in communicationwith the plurality of person support apparatuses. The user interfacereceives data regarding the detected packets from the packet sniffers.

In some embodiments, the user interface communicates with a server thatreceives the RF spectrum data from the RF spectrum analyzers and/or thedata regarding the detected packets from the packet sniffers. The serveris located on a healthcare facility computer network that includes aplurality of wireless access points which the plurality of personsupport apparatuses utilize to communicate with the user interface.

In some embodiments, the user interface is coupled to one of theplurality of person support apparatuses.

Each of the RF spectrum analyzers and/or packet sniffers are locatedonboard a corresponding one of the plurality of person supportapparatuses, in at least some embodiments of the system. In otherembodiments, each of the RF spectrum analyzers and/or packet sniffersare incorporated into a unit spaced apart from a corresponding one ofthe plurality of person support apparatuses. Each unit wirelesslycommunicates with a corresponding person support apparatuses. In someembodiments, such communication uses both an infrared frequency protocoland a radio frequency protocol. Each unit may be assigned a unique IDwhere the location of each unit is mapped in a database to the assignedunique IDs. The unique IDs are transmitted, in at least someembodiments, to the user interface.

A controller is located onboard each of the person support apparatuses,in at least some embodiments. The controller controls when thecorresponding RF spectrum analyzer gathers the RF spectrum data and/orwhen the corresponding packet sniffer gathers the packet data. The userinterface includes a control adapted to send a message to at least oneof the controllers. The message causes the controller to command atleast one of the RF spectrum analyzers to gather and/or transmit RFspectrum data to the user interface, and/or to command at least one ofthe packet sniffers to gather and/or transmit packet data.

In some embodiments, the controllers command the RF spectrum analyzersand/or packet sniffers to gather data at different time periods, and thecontrollers transmit the gathered data at different time periods to theuser interface. When the user interface receives the gathered data, itsorts the data according to the time periods that the data was gathered.

Each of the person support apparatuses are one of a bed, a stretcher, acot, an operating table, or a chair, in at least some embodiments.

The controller on board a person support apparatuses is adapted, in someembodiments, to use the RF spectrum data from its corresponding RFspectrum analyzer to adjust how the person support apparatus wirelesslycommunicates.

The RF spectrum data includes data regarding one or more of thefollowing: data gathered from a spectrum range that encompasses 2.41gigahertz to 2.46 gigahertz; data indicating a signal strength for atleast three RF channels; data indicating a latency for communicationsbetween a wireless transceiver onboard the corresponding person supportapparatus and a wireless access point; data indicating a data rate forat least one RF channel; data indicating a signal-to-noise ratio ofwireless signals received at the corresponding person support apparatus,and data indicating a Service Set Identifier (SSID) of one or morewireless networks.

When one or more of the person support apparatuses includes a packetsniffer, the packet sniffer may be adapted to identify devices that arewithin wireless range of the person support apparatus and to forward alist of the identified devices to the user interface. The packetsniffer, in some embodiments, also detects traffic volumes for each ofthe devices and forwards the traffic volumes to the user interface. Thepacket sniffer may also, or alternatively, categorize the detectedpackets according to packet type. In some embodiments, the packetsniffer is adapted to detect packets transmitted over a secondcommunication channel between the access point and a second device.

According to another embodiment, a person support apparatus is providedthat includes a support surface, a wireless transceiver, and an RFspectrum analyzer. The support surface is adapted to support a person.The wireless transceiver is adapted to wirelessly communicate with anaccess point of a local area network over a first communication channelthat is selected by the access point. The RF spectrum analyzercommunicates with the wireless transceiver and analyzes a signalstrength of both the first communication channel and a secondcommunication channel.

According to another embodiment, a person support apparatus is providedthat includes a support surface adapted to support a person, a wirelesstransceiver, and a packet sniffer. The wireless transceiver wirelesslycommunicates with an access point of a local area network over a firstcommunication channel that is selected by the access point. The packetsniffer communicates with the wireless transceiver and is adapted todetect packets transmitted over the first communication channel betweenthe access point and a first device other than the person supportapparatus.

In some embodiments, the RF spectrum analyzer is further adapted toanalyze a signal strength of a third communication channel. When soadapted, the RF spectrum analyzer forwards data from the signal strengthanalysis of the first, second, and third communication channels to theaccess point via the first communication channel. The first, second, andthird communication channels have center frequencies of 2412 megahertz,2437 megahertz, and 2462 megahertz, respectively, in at least oneembodiment.

In some embodiments, the packet sniffer is adapted to identify a sourceidentifier and a destination identifier of each packet. The sourceidentifier is at least one of an Internet Protocol (IP) source addressand Media Access Control (MAC) source address, and the destinationidentifier is at least one of an IP destination address and a MACdestination address.

The packet sniffer detects packets transmitted over the second and thirdcommunication channels between the access point and a second and a thirddevice, respectively, in some embodiments.

The wireless transceiver communicates using both a direct sequencespread spectrum (DHSS) technique and a frequency hopping spread spectrum(FHSS) technique.

The person support apparatus includes a controller that, in someembodiments, gathers data regarding the first communication channel atmultiple time periods, determines a pattern from the data, anddetermines what channels to use when communicating via the FHSStechnique based upon the pattern. The wireless transceiver communicatesusing the FHSS technique with a device separate from the access point.

In some embodiments, the person support apparatus further includes aninfrared transceiver and a controller, and the controller is adapted tocommunicate messages using the infrared transceiver instead of thewireless transceiver if the controller determines that substantialinterference is likely when communicating using the wirelesstransceiver.

According to still another embodiment, a person support apparatus isprovided that includes a support surface adapted to support a person, awireless transceiver, and an RF spectrum analyzer. The wirelesstransceiver wirelessly communicates with a device using a frequencyhopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technique that utilizes a set of channelswithin a frequency range. The RF spectrum analyzer gathers signalstrength data regarding the set of channels at multiple time periods.The RF spectrum analyzer also determines a pattern from the signalstrength data gathered at multiple time periods, and uses the pattern todetermine whether or not to use a subset of the set of channels whenusing the wireless transceiver to communicate with the device.

The RF spectrum analyzer is further adapted, in some embodiments, totime stamp the signal strength data gathered at multiple time periodsand store the time stamped signal strength data in a memory.

Determining the pattern from the signal strength data gathered atmultiple time periods includes, in some embodiments, determining a trendin the signal strength data for one or more channels within the set ofchannels. Determining the pattern from the signal strength data mayalso, or alternatively, include determining a time of a day at which achannel within the set of channels has a signal strength above or belowa threshold.

Determining the pattern from the signal strength data may also involveusing signal strength readings gathered over at least a one hour timeperiod.

In some embodiments, the wireless transceiver is further adapted towirelessly communicate with an access point of a local area networkusing a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) technique, and the RFspectrum analyzer is adapted to transmit at least a portion of thesignal strength data to the access point using the wireless transceiver.

The person support apparatus may also include, in some embodiments, aninfrared (IR) transmitter and a controller adapted to automaticallyswitch from using the wireless transceiver to using the IR transmitterto communicate with the device if the FHSS technique becomes inviable.The controller is further adapted to transmit a message to the accesspoint using the wireless transceiver when the controller switches fromusing the wireless transceiver to using the IR transmitter forcommunicating with the device.

In still another embodiment, a person support apparatus is provided thatincludes a support surface adapted to support a person, a wirelesstransceiver, and a packet sniffer. The wireless transceiver wirelesslycommunicates with a first access point of a local area network over afirst communication channel selected by the first access point. Thepacket sniffer communicates with the wireless transceiver and is adaptedto detect packets transmitted over a second communication channelbetween a second access point and a device other than the person supportapparatus.

The packet sniffer is, in some embodiments, further adapted to detectpackets transmitted over the second communication channel while theperson support apparatus is communicating with the first access pointover the first communication channel.

The packet sniffer may record in memory the contents of the packets(either the complete contents or a portion of the contents), includingthose packets that were not sent either to or from the person supportapparatus. The contents of the packets are stored in the memory untildirected by an authorized user to discard, in at least some embodiments.Further, in some embodiments, a display is included upon which thecontents of the packets are displayable.

Before the various embodiments disclose herein are explained in detail,it is to be understood that the claims are not to be limited to thedetails of operation or to the details of construction and thearrangement of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The embodiments described herein arecapable of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways notexpressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may beused in the description of various embodiments. Unless otherwiseexpressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed aslimiting the claims to any specific order or number of components. Norshould the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scopeof the claims any additional steps or components that might be combinedwith or into the enumerated steps or components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a monitoring system according to a firstembodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of one of the person support apparatuses of themonitoring system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an arbitrary facility in which themonitoring system of FIG. 1 may be employed, including an example of anaggregated set of data that may be displayed on one or more userinterfaces of the system;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an individualized set of data that may bedisplayed on one or more of the user interfaces of the monitoring systemof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of captured packet traffic that may bedisplayed on one or more of the user interfaces of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of detailed packet data regarding one of thepackets captured in FIG. 5 that may be displayed on one or more of theuser interfaces of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a monitoring system according to asecond embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a wireless communication module and wallunit used in the system of FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

An illustrative layout of a monitoring system 20 is shown in FIG. 1according to one embodiment. Monitoring system 20 includes a pluralityof person support apparatuses 22 that are positioned in one or morerooms 24 of a facility 26. System 20 further includes one or morewireless access point 28 that are coupled to a local area network 30.One or more user interfaces 32 are also included within system 20. Suchuser interfaces may be coupled to network 30 or they may be integratedinto person support apparatuses 22. In the example shown in FIG. 1, theuser interfaces 32 that are coupled to network 30 are shown as beingimplemented as computer terminals. It will be understood, however, thatuser interfaces 32 may take on other forms, including laptop computers,stand-alone displays, tablet computers, smart cell phones, and/or otherdevices.

Monitoring system 20 is adapted to monitor one or more aspects of theradio frequency (RF) environment of facility 26. In some embodiments,monitoring system 20 is adapted to carry out the equivalent of an RFsite survey of facility 26 continuously, repetitively, or in response toone or more commands from one or more user interfaces 32. Such a sitesurvey is carried out automatically without requiring any users tomanually carry RF spectrum analyzers throughout the facility. Monitoringsystem 20 is specifically adapted to gather one or more of the followingtypes of information about the RF environment of facility 26: the extentof wireless coverage of the wireless access points 28 within facility26, measurements of rates at which data is communicated to and/or fromwireless access points 28; the ability of wirelessly communicatingdevices to roam throughout facility 26 without losing communication withone or more access points 28; signal strengths of access points 28 anddevices in communication therewith at different locations of facility26; sources and strengths of RF interference; and/or quality of serviceof the wireless portions of local area network 30. In addition to, or inlieu of gathering such RF data, monitoring system 20 is adapted, in atleast one embodiment, to detect wireless packets traveling over thewireless portions of local area network 30 (and/or other networks thatare within range of one or more person support apparatuses 22) and toreport statistics and traffic data regarding the detected packets, aswill be discussed in greater detail below.

Each of the person support apparatuses 22 shown in FIG. 1 includes awireless communication module 34. As will be discussed in greater detailbelow, each wireless communication module 34 includes a wirelesstransceiver that is adapted to wirelessly communicate with one or moreof the wireless access points 28. In at least one embodiment, wirelesscommunication module 34 uses a WiFi protocol (e.g. IEEE 802.11a, b, g,n, ac, ad, ah, aj, ax, and/or ay) to communicate with access points 28.Other types of protocols, however, can be used. Each communicationmodule 34 also includes an RF spectrum analyzer 36 (FIG. 2) and/or apacket sniffer 38 (FIG. 2). RF spectrum analyzers 36 and packet sniffers38 detect and gather local RF spectrum data and traffic data. That is,RF spectrum analyzers 36 and packet sniffers 38 collect RF spectrum dataand wireless packet traffic in those local regions of facility 26 wherethe person support apparatuses 22 are located. The collected data fromeach person support apparatus 22, along with the location of thecorresponding person support apparatuses 22, is combined with similarlycollected data from other person support apparatuses 22 that arepositioned in other areas of the facility 26. The combined data is madeavailable for viewing and/or analysis at one or more user interfaces 32,thereby allowing a user of such a user interface 32 to view both currentand historical RF spectrum data and traffic data at virtually all areasof the facility. Such data can be used to troubleshoot and/or preventcommunication problems, as well as for other purposes.

In the embodiment of monitoring system 20 shown in FIG. 1, each personsupport apparatus 22 is shown to be a bed having a support surface 40that is adapted to support a patient thereon. Support surface 40, asshown, is a mattress that is supported on a deck 42 of the bed. Deck 42,in turn, is supported in a height adjustable manner on a base 44 havinga plurality of wheels 46. One or more siderails 48 may also be includedthat are pivotable between lowered and raised orientations. A footboard50 and headboard 52 are also coupled to a foot end and head end,respectively, of the bed. In some embodiments (not shown), a userinterface 32 is integrated into one or more components of the personsupport apparatus 22 itself, such as, but not limited to, beingincorporated into the footboard 50 and/or one or more of the siderails48. When implemented as a bed, further details of several manners ofconstructing person support apparatus 22 may be found in commonlyassigned, U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,059 issued to Lemire et al., and entitledHOSPITAL BED; in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. publication no.2007/0163045 filed by Becker et al. and entitled PATIENT HANDLING DEVICEINCLUDING LOCAL STATUS INDICATION, ONE-TOUCH FOWLER ANGLE ADJUSTMENT,AND POWER-ON ALARM CONFIGURATION; and/or in the Stryker MaintenanceManual for the MedSurg Bed, Model 3002 S3, published in 2010 by StrykerCorporation of Kalamazoo, Mich., the complete disclosures of all ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Other constructionsof person support apparatus 22 when implemented as a bed are, of course,possible.

Person support apparatuses 22 may also or alternatively be implementedas stretchers, cots, recliners, non-reclining chairs, operating tables,or in other manners. When implemented as a stretcher or cot, personsupport apparatuses 22 may be constructed in any of the mannersdisclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,051,511 issued toNahavandi et al. on Nov. 8, 2011 and entitled EMERGENCY STRETCHER; orcommonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,700 issued to Way et al. on Jul.23, 1996 and entitled EMERGENCY STRETCHER WITH X-FRAME SUPPORT, thecomplete disclosures of both of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein. When person support apparatus 22 is implemented as arecliner, it may be constructed in any of the manners disclosed incommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/212,253 filed Mar.14, 2014 by inventors Christopher Hough et al. and entitled MEDICALSUPPORT APPARATUS, the complete disclosure of which is also incorporatedherein by reference. Still other constructions of person supportapparatuses 22 may be used when one or more of the person supportapparatuses 22 are implemented as cots, stretchers, and/or recliners.

Regardless of the mechanical construction of person support apparatuses22, each person support apparatus typically includes a person supportapparatus controller 54, one or more sensors 56, one or more actuators58, a user interface 32, and, as noted, a wireless communication module34 (FIG. 2). Wireless communication module 34 includes one or morewireless transceivers 60, an off-board communication controller 62, RFspectrum analyzer 36, and packet sniffer 38. Off-board communicationcontroller 62 communicates with person support apparatus controller 54,as well as wireless transceiver 60, RF spectrum analyzer 36, and packetsniffer 38. Person support apparatus controller 54, in turn,communicates with sensors 56, actuators 58, and user interface 32. Thecommunication between person support apparatus controller 54 andoff-board communication controller 62 takes place via an Ethernetconnection between these two controllers, in at least one embodiment.Examples of such internal Ethernet communication between controllers aredisclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/622,221 filed Feb. 13, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al.and entitled COMMUNICATION METHODS FOR PATIENT HANDLING DEVICES, thecomplete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Each of person support apparatus controller 54 and off-boardcommunication controller 62 are implemented, in at least one embodiment,as one or more microcontrollers. For example, in at least oneembodiment, both person support apparatus controller 54 and off-boardcommunication controller 62 are implemented as any one of the i.MXfamily of system-on-chip (SoC) processors which are marketed byFreescale Semiconductor of Austin, Tex. Other types of commerciallyavailable microcontrollers may also be used. Still further, controllers54 and 62 may take on still other forms, such as any combination of anyone or more microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays, systems ona chip, volatile or nonvolatile memory, discrete circuitry, and/or otherhardware, software, or firmware that is capable of carrying out thefunctions described herein, as would be known to one of ordinary skillin the art. Such components can be physically configured in any suitablemanner, such as by mounting them to one or more circuit boards, orarranging them in other manners, whether combined into a single unit ordistributed across multiple units. The instructions followed bycontrollers 54 and 62 in carrying out the functions described herein, aswell as the data necessary for carrying out these functions, are storedin one or more accessible memories (not shown).

User interface 32 of person support apparatus 22, in at least oneembodiment, includes a touchscreen display for displaying informationused in the control and operation of person support apparatus 22, aswell as information gathered from RF spectrum analyzer 36 and/or packetsniffer 38. In other embodiments, user interface 32 includes a non-touchscreen display. Person support apparatus controller 54 communicatesinformation to user interface 32 that is to be displayed to a user ofperson support apparatus 22. In addition to displaying information to auser, user interface 32 also includes one or more controls for receivingcommands from a user of person support apparatus 22. Such controls areimplemented as one or more buttons, switches, knobs, dials, touch icons,or in other manners. User interface 32 forwards command signals and/ormessages to person support apparatus controller 54 in response to thecommands input via the controls. Person support apparatus controller 54responds to such commands by activating one or more actuators, or takingother suitable action in response to the commands.

In some embodiments, actuators 58 include multiple motors for movingcomponents of person support apparatus 22, such as actuators forchanging a height and/or angle of deck 42, pivoting one or morecomponents of deck 42, activating or deactivating a brake on personsupport apparatus 22, and/or other actions. Sensors 56 include, in atleast some embodiments, one or more sensors for detecting the positionof the movable components of person support apparatus 22. The outputsfrom such sensors are used to enable closed-loop control of the movementof these components. Sensors 56 may also include a scale system adaptedto measure a weight of an occupant of person support apparatus, and/oran exit detection system adapted to detect when a person on supportsurface 40 exits, or is about to exit, from person support apparatus 22.In one embodiment, sensors 56 include an exit detection system thatoperates in one or more of the manners described in either of thefollowing commonly assigned patent applications: U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 62/065,242 filed Oct. 17, 2014 by inventors Marko Kostic et el.and entitled PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH MOTION MONITORING; and PCTpatent application serial number PCT/US2014/02630 filed Mar. 13, 2014 byapplicant Stryker Corporation and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSWITH PATIENT INFORMATION SENSORS. Still other types of sensors 56 may beincluded on person support apparatus 22.

Person support apparatus controller 54 forwards selected informationabout person support apparatus 22 to a remote support apparatus server64 that is communicatively coupled to local area network 30 (FIG. 1).Support apparatus server 64, in turn, makes all or a portion of thatinformation available to any authorized software application that is incommunication with local area network 30. Such information may include avariety of different information about person support apparatus 22, suchas the status of the exit detection system (armed, disarmed, and/oralerting), the weight of an occupant of person support apparatus 22, theposition of siderails 48, the state of a brake, the height of deck 42,the location of person support apparatus 22, and/or other information.Person support apparatus controller 54 forwards the information tosupport apparatus server 64 by first forwarding the information tooff-board communication controller 62. Off-board communicationcontroller 62 oversees all off-board communications of person supportapparatus 22. In response to receiving the information to be forwardedto support apparatus server 64, off-board communication controller 62forwards the information to wireless transceiver 60 which, in turn,wirelessly communicates the information to an access point 28. Theaccess point 28 then forwards the information to support apparatusserver 64 via one or more wired or wireless connections of local areanetwork 30.

In addition to sending information to support apparatus server 64 thatis received from person support apparatus controller 54, communicationmodules 34 also send information to support apparatus server 64 that isgenerated from RF spectrum analyzer 36 and/or from packet sniffer 38. RFspectrum analyzer 36 is adapted to take RF signal strength readings overone or more frequency ranges. In at least one embodiment, the frequencyranges include all of the frequencies that person support apparatuses 22utilize for communicating with access points 28 and/or other devices, aswell as all of the frequencies other wireless communication deviceswithin facility 26 utilize for communication. Thus, for example, whenperson support apparatuses 22 utilize WiFi communications forcommunicating with access points 28, RF spectrum analyzers 36 areadapted to take signal strength readings over one or more of thefollowing frequency ranges: 2.4 to 2.5 gigahertz (GHz); 3.6 to 3.7 GHz;5 to 5.9 GHz; and/or 58 to 64 GHz. These frequency ranges are given heremerely as examples of the frequency ranges, and RF spectrum analyzer 36may take RF readings over larger ranges than these. Further, differentcountries regulate the RF spectrum in different manners and thefrequencies used by person support apparatus 22 in communicating withaccess points 28 may vary from country to country. The frequenciesanalyzed by RF spectrum analyzer 36 will therefore also vary fromcountry to country in such situations.

In addition to monitoring signals in the frequency range(s) used byperson support apparatuses 22 to wirelessly communicate, RF spectrumanalyzers 36 may also be configured to take signal strength readings ofother frequencies that are used by other devices for communication, orthat are otherwise of interest to the managers of facility 26. Forexample, facility 26 may include one or more portable communicationdevices, such as cordless phones, that utilize 900 MHz frequencies forcommunication. In such instances, RF spectrum analyzer 36 can beinstructed, utilizing one or more of the user interfaces 32, to takesignal strength readings generally near the 900 MHz range. RF spectrumanalyzer 36 may also take signal strength readings over still otherfrequency ranges, including, but not limited to, cellular communicationfrequencies.

In at least one embodiment, RF spectrum analyzer 36 outputs RF spectrumdata in a graphical format that plots the frequencies on the x-axis of agraph and the measured signal strengths for each of the frequencies on ay-axis of the graph. Such plots of signal strength are also time stampedand stored in memory so that historical RF spectrum data can be view andanalyzed. User interface 32 includes controls that enable a user toselect a time and to view the corresponding plot of frequency signalstrengths for the selected time.

In some embodiments, RF spectrum analyzer 36 also processes the signalstrength readings so as to enable them to be displayed in a graphicalformat wherein the x-axis of the graph corresponds to time, the y-axiscorresponds to the detected signals strength readings, and separatelycolored lines are displayed for the signal strength readings of thedifferent access points 28 and communicating devices. Each of thecolored lines represents the signal strength that is detected by RFspectrum analyzer 36 for a given access point 28 or device detected atdifferent times. A different color is assigned to each access point 28and device and a legend or key is provided that indicates which colorcorresponds to which access point 28 or device.

In some embodiments, the data is processed so that it can be displayedgraphically as a “heat map.” Such “heat map” displays utilize differentcolors to indicate how the signal strength readings change over time.For example, if the signal strength detected at, say, 1432 MHz, over aten minute period was in the range of −50 dBm (decibel-milliwatts) to−40 dBm for more than fifty percent of the ten minute period, the −40 to−50 dBm range is colored a first color. Other colors are used for othersignal strengths that aren't as common during the time period. Thecolors therefore provide an indication of how predominant the measuredsignals strengths are over time.

In still other embodiments, RF spectrum analyzer 36 leaves theprocessing and display of the spectrum data it gathers to the userinterface 32 and/or another software application that is incommunication with one or more of the user interfaces 32. User interface32 and/or the software in communication with user interface 32 thereforecontrols how the gathered data is organized, graphed, and/or colored.

RF spectrum analyzers 36 are programmed, by default, to periodically andautomatically gather and store RF spectrum data. This defaultprogramming can be overwritten via either the user interface 32positioned on board each person support apparatus 22, or by the userinterfaces 32 that are coupled to local area network 30 and locatedremotely from the person support apparatuses 22. That is, a user canutilize user interface 32 to command when RF spectrum analyzers 36gather RF spectrum data. In some embodiments, user interfaces 32 of eachperson support apparatus 22 can be used to control the RF spectrumanalyzers 36 of other person support apparatuses 22, while in otherembodiments, user interfaces 32 of each person support apparatus areonly capable of controlling the RF spectrum analyzer 36 positionedon-board the same person support apparatus 22. In either embodiment,those user interfaces 32 that are positioned off-board the personsupport apparatuses 22 are able to command one or all of the RF spectrumanalyzers 36. Indeed, in at least one embodiment, the user interfaces 32that are positioned off-board the person support apparatuses 22 are ableto issue a command globally to all, or a subset of all, of the RFspectrum analyzers to being RF spectrum monitoring, thereby enabling auser of such user interfaces to avoid having to send individual commandsto each of the RF spectrum analyzers 36.

In addition to commanding when and how frequently the RF spectrumanalyzers 36 are to gather RF spectrum data, the user interfaces 32 arealso configured to allow a user to specify additional details about theRF spectrum data that is to be gathered. For example, user interfaces 32are configured to allow a user to specify what specific frequency rangesRF spectrum data is to be gathered over. User interfaces 32 are alsoconfigured to allow a user to specify what items within the gathered RFspectrum data are to be transmitted to support apparatus server 64 andwhen such items are to be transmitted to support apparatus server 64.

Still further, in at least one embodiment, user interfaces 32 areconfigured to enable a user to specify conditions that trigger an alertmessage from the person support apparatus 22. The alert message istransmitted to support apparatus server 64 and forwarded onto acommunication server (e.g. a conventional nurse call system server, anemail server, or some other application that forwards the alert toappropriate personnel, such as caregivers and/or technicians). The alertmessage is generated in response to one or more user-specifiedconditions detected by RF spectrums analyzer 36. Such conditions includesignal strengths from access points 28 decreasing below a signalstrength threshold, channel utilization exceeding a channel utilizationthreshold, signal-to-noise ratios exceeding an SNR threshold,interference exceeding an interference threshold, and still otherconditions exceeding other types of thresholds. By including the abilityfor a user to define and specify the conditions for such alerts,suitable personnel can be promptly notified of any wireless connectivityissues within facility 26.

In addition to gathering RF spectrum data from RF spectrum analyzers 36,monitoring system 20 is also adapted to gather location information fromeach of the RF spectrum analyzers 36. The manner in which this locationinformation is gathered can be varied. In one embodiment, a conventionaloff-the-shelf real time locating system (RTLS) system is used. Such anRTLS system involves, in some embodiments, tagging each person supportapparatus 22 with a conventional RF ID tag, or other type of electronictag, that emits an RF signal in response to an interrogation signal. Theinterrogation signals are emitted by multiple units (not shown)positioned throughout the facility at known locations. Because of theknown position of the multiple units and the relative signals strengthsof the responses to the interrogations, the positions of each of theperson support apparatuses 22 can be determined within the facility. Thelocations of these person support apparatuses are then communicated, inat least one embodiment, to support apparatus sever 64, which correlatesthe position data with the RF spectrum data. That is, support apparatusserver 64 matches the RF spectrum data of each person support apparatus22 with the location information received from the RTLS system.

In another embodiment, the location of each person support apparatus 22is determined in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S.Pat. No. 8,674,826 issued to Becker et al. on Mar. 18, 2014, andentitled LOCATION DETECTION SYSTEM FOR A DEVICE, the complete disclosureof which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In otherembodiments, the location of person support apparatuses 22 aredetermined in one or more of the manners disclosed in commonly assignedU.S. patent application Ser. No. 62/182,911 filed Jun. 22, 2015 byinventors Michael Hayes et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSESWITH NAVIGATION AND GUIDANCE SYSTEMS, the complete disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference. In yet other embodiments,still different methods and/or structures are used to determine thelocations of the person support apparatuses 22 and their respective RFspectrum analyzers 36.

Monitoring system 20 is also adapted, in at least some embodiments, toinclude floorplans for each of the various floors of facility 26 so thatthe location information of each person support apparatus 22 can becorrelated to the floorplan for the particular floor of facility 26 onwhich the person support apparatus 22 is located. For example, FIG. 3shows an illustrative facility 26 having a plurality of floors 66.Support apparatus server 64 includes data defining the floorplans foreach of the floors 66. Further, support apparatus server 64 correlatesthe floorplan data with the location data of each of the person supportapparatuses 22, thereby allowing user interfaces 32 (whether on boardperson support apparatuses 22 or not) to display the location of eachperson support apparatus 22 within the floorplan of facility 26, such asshown in FIG. 3.

Support apparatus server 64 is also adapted to gather the RF spectrumdata from each of the RF spectrum analyzers 36 and present aggregateddata regarding the collective connectivity of the persons supportapparatuses 22. For example, support apparatus server 64 is adapted, inat least one embodiment, to generate a set of aggregated connectivitydata 68, such as that shown in FIG. 3. Aggregated connectivity data set68 includes an indication of the total number of devices that arecurrently connected to the wireless access point 28, the total number ofaccess points 28, the average or median connectivity level of thewireless devices (including person support apparatuses 22) to the accesspoint 28, and the average or median signal to noise ratio (SNR) of thewireless signals between those devices and the access points 28. Otheraggregated data may alternatively, or additionally, be gathered byserver 64 and made available for display on any of the user interfaces32.

In addition to aggregated data, monitoring system 20 is also adapted toprovide individualized RF spectrum data regarding each of the personsupport apparatuses 22. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates an individualdata set 70 that provides RF spectrum data for an individual personsupport apparatus 22. As shown therein, individual data set 70identifies the name of the person support apparatus 22 (e.g. BED00125),the location of the person support apparatus 22 within the facility 26(e.g. 7th Floor East Wing Bay 2), the media access control (MAC) addressof the person support apparatus 22, the signal strength of the signalsfrom the access point 28 with which the person support apparatus 22 isin communication, the signal-to-noise ratio of those signals, and aqualitative description of the connectivity of person support apparatus22 (e.g. poor, fair, good, excellent). Still other information may begathered about individual person support apparatuses 22 and madeavailable for displaying on one of user interfaces 32.

The RF spectrum data gathered by RF spectrum analyzers 36 iscommunicated to support apparatus server 64 via wireless communicationmodule 34 and access points 28. Thus, communication module 34 uses atleast some of the same RF spectrum that RF spectrum analyzer 36 analyzesin order to communicate the results of that analysis to server 64. In atleast one embodiment, wireless communication modules 34 are furtheradapted to communicate directly with other wireless communicationmodules 34 in a mesh network style of communicating such that—if one ormore person support apparatuses 22 are out-of-range of a wireless accesspoint 28, or otherwise unable to communicate with a wireless accesspoint 28—they can forward their messages to another person supportapparatus 22 which then relays the messages onto an access point 28, orto one or more other person support apparatuses 22 that are incommunication with an access point 28. The inclusion of such a meshnetworking ability is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/802,855 filed Mar. 14, 2013 by inventors MichaelHayes et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATIONSYSTEMS, and commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,982 issued Jun. 11,2013 to inventors David Becker et al. and entitled COMMUNICATION SYSTEMFOR PATIENT HANDLING DEVICES, the disclosures of both of which arehereby incorporated herein in their entirety. Such mesh networkingthereby allows RF spectrum data to be centrally gathered at supportapparatus server 64 even in situations where one or more person supportapparatuses 22 are unable to communicate directly with an access point28.

In addition to RF spectrum analyzers 36, each person support apparatus22 includes, in at least one embodiment of monitoring system 20, apacket sniffer 38 (FIG. 2). Packet sniffers 38 detect wireless packetstraveling within the detection vicinity of wireless communication module34. Packet sniffers 38 are adapted to analyze the detected packets andprovide information about the detected packets to user interfaces 32(both those on board person support apparatuses 22 and those off-boardperson support apparatuses 22). Such information includes thedestination and source of the detected packets. For example, in oneembodiment, packet sniffers 38 detect the media access control (MAC)addresses of the sender and receivers of packet and/or the internetprotocol (IP) address of the sender and receiver of packets. Packetsniffers 38 may also detect the OUI (organizationally unique identifier)contained within packets and make that identifier available for displayon user interfaces 32.

FIG. 5 illustrates in greater detail an example of packet traffic data72 that is detected by packet sniffers 38. As can be seen therein,packet traffic data 72 includes a list of approximately twenty-onepackets were detected by one of the packet sniffers 38 and that arearranged in chronological sequence. A sequence column 73 assigns anumber to each packet based on their detection time. A time column 74indicates the precise time that each of the packets was detected. Asource column 76 indicates the source of each packet. The destination ofeach of the packets is also listed in a destination column 78 followedby a protocol column 80 that identifies the protocol of the packet.Although the protocol types shown in FIG. 6 only include theTransmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the hypertext transfer protocol(HTTP), multiple other protocols may be detected, including, but notlimited to, an address resolution protocol (ARP), an encapsulatingsecurity payload (ESP) protocol, and any of a variety of proprietaryprotocols (e.g. the BJNP protocol used by printers manufactured by theCanon company of Tokyo, Japan). Still other types of protocols are alsodetectable by packet sniffer 38. The length of each of the detectedpackets is also indicated in a length column 82, which is followed by aninformation column 84 that provides information about the content of thepacket.

More detailed information about each and every one of the packetsgathered by packet sniffer 38 is also available. For example, FIG. 6illustrates a detailed packet window 86 that is displayed on one of userinterfaces 32 when a user selects a particular one of the packets listedin the packet traffic data of FIG. 5. In the example of FIG. 6, detailedpacket window 86 provides detailed packet information about the secondone of the packets shown in FIG. 5 (corresponding to time 0.911310). Thefurther details shown in packet window 86 for this packet includeinformation indicating that the packet contains an Ethernet frame,including the source and destination of the Ethernet frame. Packetwindow 86 also displays details regarding the Internet Protocol used(e.g. version, header length, differentiated services field, flags,header checksum, etc.); and information regarding the TransmissionControl Protocol (TCP), such as the source and destination ports,sequence number, acknowledgement number, header length, window sizevalue, checksum, and a sequence/acknowledgement analysis. Still otherdetails may be included depending on the type of packet, such as, butnot limited to, an interface ID, an encapsulation type, the arrival timeand date, an amount of time shifting, the epoch time, time deltas, framenumbers and lengths, and/or capture lengths. Still other types of packetinformation can be gathered by packet sniffer 38 and displayed in packetwindow 86.

When off-board communication controller 62 (FIG. 2) sends packet datagathered by packet sniffer 38 to support apparatus server 64 usingwireless transceiver 60, off-board communication controller 62 isfurther adapted to either include information with the transmitted datathat identifies the location of that particular person support apparatus22 within facility 26, or to include an identifier with the transmitteddata that uniquely identifies that person support apparatus 22 and thatcan be correlated to other information that identifies the location ofthat person support apparatus 22. In this manner, the location withinfacility 26 at which the packet data is gathered by each packet snifferis known. Such location information can be gathered in any of themanners previously discussed. If off-board communication controller 62is informed of the location of person support apparatus 22, thenoff-board communication controller 62 appends that location data to thegathered packet data. If off-board communication controller 62 is notinformed of the location of person support apparatus 22, then supportapparatus server 64 appends the location data to the packet data whensupport apparatus server 64 receives the packet data.

Packet sniffer 38, in addition to gathering details about packetsdetected by wireless communication module 34, is further adapted tostore the gathered data indefinitely and/or transmit it to supportapparatus server 64. The stored packets and their associated data (e.g.time and location) are stored, in at least one embodiment, until a userutilizes user interface 32 to delete them. User interface 32, whether onboard person support apparatus 22 or coupled to server 64, is adapted toorganize the gathered data such that technicians can view and sort thedata. Thus, for example, if a technician wants to know how many packetswere detected by a particular person support apparatus 22 over aspecific time frame, he or she can use one of user interfaces 32 toquery the information gathered by packet sniffers 38 and find such data.User interfaces 32 are also adapted to query the packet data bylocation, thereby enabling a user, for example, to be able to search forall packets detected by person support apparatuses 22 within a selectedroom over a selected time period (regardless of whether or not differentperson support apparatuses 22 were moved into and/or out of the roomover the selected time period).

The packets detected by packet sniffer 38 include not only the wirelesspackets transmitted to or from the access point 28 that wirelesstransceiver 60 is currently in communication with, but also any otherpackets detected by wireless transceiver 60, regardless of the source ordestination of those packets. That is, packet sniffer 38 identifies andstores those packets that are transmitted between the access point 28and other devices that are in communication with that access point.Further, packet sniffer 38 also identifies and stores packets that aretransmitted between other access points 28 and devices. Still further,packet sniffer 38 identifies and stores packets that are transmittedbetween access points of networks other than local area network 30 (e.g.access points of wireless networks from adjacent buildings or businessesother than the healthcare facility 26 in which person supportapparatuses 22 are positioned).

Thus, for example, if a particular person support apparatus 22 iscommunicating via WiFi with a first access point 28 via WiFi channel 11(2.462 GHz), packet sniffer 38 is adapted to detect, analyze, and storepackets that are being transmitted over the other WiFi channels (e.g.WiFi channels 1-10 and possibly channels 12 and 13, which correspond to2.412, 2.417, 2.422, 2.427, 2.432, 2.437, 2.442, 2.447, 2.452, 2.457,2.467, and 2.472 Ghz, respectively). Still further, packet sniffer 38 isadapted to detect packets that are traveling to or from wireless accesspoints of other networks besides local area network 30. Still further,packet sniffer 38 can be configured via user interface 32 to detectpackets that are traveling directly between devices without utilizing anaccess point 28.

User interfaces 32 are configured to allow a user to specify whatchannels packet sniffers 38 monitor for packets, what access points 28the packet sniffers 38 monitor packet traffic to or from, and/or whatnetworks the packet sniffers 38 are to detect packets traveling over.Further, user interfaces are configured to allow a user to specify theaforementioned items for selected person support apparatuses 22, or forall of the person support apparatuses 22 within facility 26. Inaddition, user interfaces 32 are configured to allow a user to selectand define thresholds that will trigger an alert if the selectedthresholds are exceeded. For example, in at least one embodiment, userinterface 32 is configured to allow a user to define thresholds fortraffic volumes and/or packet latencies and to issue an alert if eitheror both of the traffic volume thresholds or packet latencies areexceeded. When so configured, user interface 32 communicates one or moremessages to off-board communication controller 62 indicating thethresholds that are to be monitored. Off-board communication controller62 thereafter monitors the packet data gathered by packet sniffer 38 anddetermines whether any of the user-defined thresholds are exceeded. Ifso, it issues an alert that, in at least one embodiment, involvestransmitting an alert message to support apparatus server 64, whichrelays the message to appropriate personnel. Other types of alerts can,of course, be issued.

User interfaces 32 are also configured to allow a user to search throughany of the gathered packet data, such as that illustrated in FIG. 5.Such searching is, in at least one embodiment, able to be carried outwithin specific data fields, such as the following: time, destinationaddress, source address, protocol type, location, packet content, andstill others. This enables a user to easily search for packet trafficthat is specific to a particular device, time period, or othercharacteristic. User interfaces 32 are also configured in at least oneembodiment to allow a user to search for and view aggregatedinformation, such as periods when high or low packet traffic volumes aredetected by a particular packet sniffer 38.

FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative monitoring system 120 according toanother embodiment. Those components of monitoring system 120 that arethe same as the components of monitoring system 20 are labeled with thesame reference numbers and operate in the same manner previouslydescribed unless otherwise noted. Those components that are similar, butinclude additional or modified functionality, are labeled with the samereference number increased by one hundred. Those components that are notfound in monitoring system 20 are labeled with a new reference number.

Monitoring system 120 includes a plurality of person support apparatuses122 that are positioned in one or more rooms 24 of a facility 26.Monitoring system 120 further includes one or more wireless access point28 that are coupled to a local area network 30. One or more userinterfaces 32 are also included within system 20, some of which arecoupled to person support apparatuses 122 and some of which are coupledto local area network 30. Local area network 30 includes a connection tosupport apparatus server 64, at least one user interface 32, andoptionally (as indicated by the dotted line) a connection to aconventional nurse call system 194.

Monitoring system 120, like monitoring system 20, is adapted to monitorone or more aspects of the radio frequency (RF) environment of facility26, such as those described above. That is, monitoring system 120 isspecifically adapted to gather one or more of the following types ofinformation about the RF environment of facility 26: the extent ofwireless coverage of the wireless access points 28 within facility 26,measurements of rates at which data is communicated to and/or fromwireless access points 28; the ability of wirelessly communicatingdevices to roam throughout facility 26 without losing communication withone or more access points 28; signal strengths of access points 28 anddevices in communication therewith at different locations of facility26; sources and strengths of RF interference; and/or quality of serviceof the wireless portions of local area network 30. In addition to, or inlieu of gathering such RF data, monitoring system 120 is adapted, in atleast one embodiment, to detect wireless packets traveling over thewireless portions of local area network 30 (and/or other networks thatare within range of the person support apparatuses 122) and to reportstatistics and traffic data regarding the detected packets, as will bediscussed in greater detail below.

Monitoring system 120 differs from monitoring system 20 in that personsupport apparatuses 122 includes a wireless communication module 134that perform one or more additional functions beyond those of wirelesscommunication modules 34. One such additional function performed bywireless communication module 34 is communication with a fixed locatorunit 190. Fixed locator units 190 are mounted, in at least oneembodiment, to the walls of facility 26, such as wall 192 (FIG. 7).Fixed locator units 190 are adapted to communicate with a conventionalnurse call system 194 and a conventional room control 196. Room control196 controls one or more aspects of the room in which the person supportapparatus 122 is located, such as, for example, a television.

Wireless communication module 134 and fixed locator unit 190 are adaptedto establish a communication link between the two that allows personsupport apparatus 122 to communicate with the conventional nurse callsystem 194 and/or the conventional room control 196 without the need,such as in prior systems, to connect a cable between person supportapparatus 122 and a headwall connector that is coupled to the nurse callsystem 194 and room control 196. This relieves a caregiver associatedwith person support apparatus 122 of the need to make this manual wiredconnection, thereby reducing the labor of the caregiver. This alsorelieves the caregiver of the need to manually disconnect the wiredcable—that would otherwise be necessary—when moving the person supportapparatus 122 to a new location. Still further, this reduces thephysical clutter within the vicinity of person support apparatus 122.The wireless communication link between module 134 and fixed locatorunit 190 utilize a different communication protocol than that used bymodule 134 when communicating with access points 28, as will bediscussed in greater detail below.

FIG. 8 illustrates fixed locator unit 190 and wireless communicationmodule 134 in more detail. Wireless communication module 134 includes anoff-board communication controller 162 that is comprised of two separateboards: a host control board 200 and a room interface board 202. Each ofthe boards 200 and 202 include at least one conventionalmicrocontroller. Host control board 200 further includes a radio 204that is coupled to an RF antenna 206. Although not illustrated in FIG.8, host control board 200 and its associated electronics carry out thefunctions of an RF analyzer and a packet sniffer in addition to theother functions discussed herein. These RF analyzer and packet sniffingfunctions are carried out in any of the previous manners described abovewith respect to RF spectrum analyzer 36 and packet sniffer 38. Further,although not shown in FIG. 8, wireless communication module 134 iscommunicatively coupled to a person support apparatus controller 54 thatis, in turn, coupled to a user interface. The user interface isconfigured to carry out any of the aforementioned functions of userinterfaces 32.

Wireless communication module 134 further includes an infraredtransceiver 208 that is in communication with, and under the control of,room interface board 202. As will be discussed in greater detail below,infrared transceiver 208 is adapted to communicate with an infraredtransceiver coupled to locator unit 190 in order to allow communicationmodule 134 to determine its location. Room interface board 202 is alsoin communication with a thirty-seven pin cable interface 210.Thirty-seven pin cable interface 210 is adapted to receive a standardthirty-seven pin nurse call cable that can be coupled to a port of aconventional nurse call system in the event that wireless communicationwith the nurse call system via radio 204 is not feasible or desired.

Fixed locator unit 190 includes a fixed locator controller 212 thatcomprises a host control board 214 and a room interface board 216. Hostcontrol board 214 includes a radio 220 that is coupled to an antenna222. Room interface board 218 is coupled to both a thirty-seven pininterface 224 and an IR transceiver 226. Fixed locator unit 190 receivesits electrical power from a power supply 228 which, in at least oneembodiment, is a conventional AC wall outlet. Radio 220 of fixed locatorunit 190 is adapted to wirelessly communicate with radio 204 of wirelesscommunication module 134 over an RF link 230. IR transceivers 208 and226 of wireless communication module 134 and fixed locator unit 190 areadapted to wirelessly communicate with each other using infraredelectromagnetic waves over an IR link 232. Still further, thirty-sevenpin cable interfaces 210 and 224 are adapted to communicate with eachother over a wired link 234 when a cable, or other wire, is physicallypresent and coupled to interfaces 210 and 224.

Fixed locator unit 190 also includes a nurse call and room control port198 that is internally coupled to room interface board 218 and adaptedto couple externally to conventional nurse call system 194 and roomcontrol 196. In some embodiments, port 198 includes a thirty-seven pinconnector that is adapted to be inserted into 37 mating sockets of aconventional headwall connector. Such thirty-seven pin connections areone of the most common types of connectors found on existing headwallsof medical facilities for making connections to the nurse call system194 and/or the room controls 196. Fixed locator unit 190 of FIG. 8 istherefore configured to mate with one of the most common type ofheadwall connectors used in medical facilities. Such 37 pin connectors,however, are not the only type of connectors, and it will be understoodthat port 198 can be adapted to electrically couple to different typesof headwall connectors.

Fixed locator unit 190 is adapted to wirelessly receive signals fromperson support apparatus 122 and deliver the signals to the nurse callsystem 194 and room controls 196 in a manner that matches the way thesignals would otherwise be delivered were a conventional cable connectedbetween person support apparatus 122 and each of nurse call system 194and room controls 196. In at least one embodiment, in addition tosending signals received from wireless communication module 134 ofperson support apparatus 122 to the nurse call system 194 and/or roomcontrols 196, fixed locator unit 190 is also adapted to forward signalsreceived from the nurse call system 194 and/or room controls 196 towireless communication module 134 of person support apparatus 122. Fixedlocator unit 190 is therefore adapted, in at least one embodiment, toprovide bidirectional communication between person support apparatus 122and either or both of nurse call system 194 and room controls 196. Suchbidirectional communication includes, but is not limited to,communicating audio signals between a person supported on person supportapparatus 122 and a caregiver positioned remotely from person supportapparatus 122 (which is accomplished by fixed locator unit 190forwarding the audio signals of the person on person support apparatus122 to nurse call system 194, and vice versa).

Fixed locator unit 190 communicates the data and signals it receivesfrom wireless communication module 134 to nurse call system 194 and/orroom controls 196 in any of the manners described in more detail incommonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/819,844 filed Aug.6, 2015 by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled PERSONSUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION, the completedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Indeed, in someembodiments, fixed locator unit 190 includes any or all of the samefunctionality described with respect to headwall interface 38 of theaforementioned Ser. No. 14/819,844 patent application. In one such anembodiment, fixed locator controller 212 is configured to include theprocessors 96 and 112 described in the Ser. No. 14/819,844 patentapplication.

Wireless communication module 134 communicates wirelessly with fixedlocator unit 190 via radio 204. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8,radio 204 is adapted to communicate using both a WiFi protocol (IEEE802.11) and a modified Bluetooth protocol (IEEE 802.15.1). Similarly,radio 220 of fixed locator unit 190 is adapted to communicate using thesame modified Bluetooth protocol, and in some embodiments is alsoadapted to communicate using the WiFi protocol. Wireless communicationmodule 134 uses the WiFi communication protocol to communicate withwireless access points 28 of facility 26 (see, e.g. FIG. 7). Fixedlocator unit 190, if it is configured to include WiFi communicationsabilities, also uses the WiFi protocol to communicate with wirelessaccess points 28. Wireless communication module 134 and fixed locatorunit 190 utilize the modified Bluetooth protocol to communicate witheach other, as will be described in greater detail below.

The unmodified Bluetooth protocol utilizes a frequency hopping spreadspectrum (FHSS) technique for communicating that involves communicatingover 79 designated Bluetooth communication channels. This contrasts withWiFi, which uses a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) technique forcommunicating. Each Bluetooth channel has a bandwidth of approximatelyone megahertz. (Bluetooth version 4 uses 2 MHz spacing and accommodatesonly 40 channels). The first channel starts at 2402 MHz and theremaining channels continue sequentially up to 2480 MHz. The frequencyhopping aspects of unmodified Bluetooth involve changing frequenciesamong these 79 channels multiple times per second, such as roughly 1600hops per second. Starting with Bluetooth version 2.1, Bluetoothcommunication has used an adaptive frequency hopping spread spectrumtechnique. This adaptive frequency hopping involves taking a snapshot ofthe signals strengths on each of the designated Bluetooth channels andavoiding those channels that have signal strengths above a threshold.

The modified Bluetooth protocol utilized by wireless communicationmodule 134 and fixed locator unit 190 takes multiple snapshots of thesignals strengths of the Bluetooth channels over longer periods of time,stores them, and analyzes them to determine any patterns that may existin the readings for each of the channels. These patterns are then usedto determine whether or not an individual channel should continue to beused as one of the channels utilized in the frequency hopping technique.This provides better immunity against interference from WiFi and/orother signals that communicate using frequencies that overlap with theBluetooth frequency range.

The modified Bluetooth communication protocol is carried out by hostcontrol board 200. Host control board 200, as noted previously, includesan RF spectrum analyzer that operates in the same manner as RF spectrumsanalyzer 36 described above. In addition, the RF spectrum analyzer ofhost control board 200 takes multiple snapshots of the signals itdetects in each of the seventy-nine (or 40) Bluetooth communicationchannels. If the signal strengths detected from the multiple snapshotsexceed a threshold level for more than a threshold number of thesnapshots, then host control board 200 removes that particular channelfrom the channels available for communicating using the frequencyhopping technique. If the signals strengths of the snapshots detectedfrom the multiple snapshots do not exceed the threshold level for morethan a threshold number of the snapshots, then host control board 200continues to use those channels when communicating using the frequencyhopping technique.

For example, suppose that host control board 200 takes ten signalstrength readings and detects a signal on Bluetooth channel one (2402MHz) that exceeds −50 dBm for each of the ten signal strength readings.In that case, host control board 200 will temporarily remove channel onefrom the set of Bluetooth channels that are available for communicatingusing frequency hopping because it is unlikely that a Bluetooth signaltransmitted on that channel will be successfully received. The removalof channel one from the set of available Bluetooth channels willcontinue until enough subsequent snapshots are taken that are indicativeof less usage of channel one. That is, host control board 200repetitively takes snapshots of the signals strengths for each of theBluetooth channels (e.g. once every one to ten seconds or so) andre-analyzes them. If the re-analysis indicates that a channel willlikely have sufficient bandwidth, then host control board 200 willreturn the channel to the set of channels available for frequencyhopping.

As another example, if contrast, if host control board 200 takes asequence of signal strength readings and detects a signal on Bluetoothchannel one that varies between −90 dBm and −80 dBm and has an averagestrength of, say, −85 dBm, host control board 200, in at least oneembodiment, will determine that communication using channel one willlikely not lead to destructive interference, and will therefore includechannel on in the set of channels available for frequency hopping.

Host control board 200 does not look at only the last X number of signalstrength readings when determining whether to include a Bluetoothchannel within the set of those available for frequency hopping. Hostcontrol board 200 also looks at, in at least one embodiment, anypatterns or trends that it can detect in previous readings, includingprevious readings that may have been taken minutes, hours, or days ago.For example, host control board 200 analyzes the signal strengthreadings to determine if there are certain times of the day thatcongestion is to be expected, or not to be expected, on various of theBluetooth channels. Further, host control board 200 is programmed todetect patterns of channel usage of nearby devices that may be periodic,but not tied to any particular time of day. For example, a nearby devicemay repeatedly send bursts of packets utilizing Bluetooth or WiFi (whichoverlaps the Bluetooth frequency range) with a general regularity withrelatively little packets between those bursts. To the extent thosebursts of packets effectively consume all or most of the availablethroughput of a given Bluetooth channel during those bursts, hostcontrol board 200 removes the affected channels from the set of channelsavailable for use in frequency hopping during those bursts and returnsthem to the set between the bursts.

The modified Bluetooth communication protocol utilized by wirelesscommunication module 134 and fixed locator unit 190 therefore differsfrom the unmodified Bluetooth protocol in several manners. First, themodified protocol gathers signal strength readings more frequently thanunmodified Bluetooth. Second, the modified protocol stores all of thesignal strength readings and uses them when determining what channels touse, rather than using only the last signal strength reading. And third,the modified protocol involves analyzing the multiple gathered signalstrength readings to detect patterns or trends and utilizing thosepatterns or trends to determine what channels to use for transmission.The modified Bluetooth communication protocol therefore providesBluetooth communication abilities that are more immune to interferencethan the unmodified Bluetooth communication protocol.

Fixed locator units 190 and wireless communication modules 134 alsoinclude the ability to communicate with each other using IR link 232. IRlink 232 is used for either of two purposes: to enable wirelesscommunication module 134 (and thus its associated person supportapparatus 122) to determine its location within facility 26, and toenable fixed locator units 190 and wireless communication modules 134 tocontinue to communicate with each other in the event RF link 230 becomesinoperable. The first of these two purposes—using IR link 232 forestablishing the location of person support apparatus 122—is describedfirst below, followed by a description of the second of these twopurposes.

Fixed locator units 190 are positioned at fixed locations around ahealthcare facility, such as adjacent each individual bay or area that abed, or other person support apparatus, is customarily positioned. Forexample, in a typical hospital room that is designed to accommodate twopatients, a first fixed locator unit 190 would be positioned adjacentthe area in the room where the first bed was normally located, and asecond fixed locator unit 190 would be positioned adjacent the area inthe room where the second bed was normally located. The location of eachfixed locator unit 190 is then surveyed and stored in an electronicmemory that is accessible to support apparatus server 64 and/or othercomputer devices in communication with network 30.

Each fixed locator unit 190 includes a unique ID that uniquelyidentifies each individual fixed locator unit 190 within a givenhealthcare facility from each and every other fixed locator unit 190within that healthcare facility. Controller 212 is programmed to respondto any interrogation from a wireless communication module 134 bytransmitting that unique ID to the interrogating wireless communicationmodule 134. Both this interrogation and response are communicated usingIR link 232. IR link 232 has a relatively small communication range(e.g. one to three meters, as an example) such that, in the event aperson support apparatus 122 is able to communicate with a fixed locatorunit 190 via IR link 232, the person support apparatus 122 must bepositioned relatively closely to that fixed locator unit 190.Consequently, when a person support apparatus 122 communicates with afixed locator unit 190 via IR link 232, communication module 134determines that its current location is the same as that of the fixedlocator unit 190 it is currently communicating with. The communicationbetween fixed locator unit 190 and wireless communication module 134 viaIR link 232 includes transmitting the unique identifier of the fixedlocator unit to wireless communication module 134. Wirelesscommunication module 134 then either consults the surveyed data thatindicates the location of the fixed locator unit having that uniqueidentifier, or transmits the unique identifier to support apparatusserver 64, which then correlates the unique identifier with a locationof person support apparatus 122. This transmission to server 64 is donevia radio 204, which communicates with an access point 28.

As was also noted, IR link 232 is also used as a backup communicationlink in the event RF link 230 becomes inoperable. In such a situation,data that was normally communicated between fixed locator unit 190 andwireless communication module 134 via RF link 230 is transmitted via IRlink 232. In one such embodiment, wireless communication module 134transmits an alert message to support apparatus server 64 (via radio 204and access points 28) indicating that its RF link 230 with itsassociated fixed locator unit 190 has become inoperable and that it isnow using IR link 232. Server 64 forwards this information to one ormore user interfaces 32 or mobile devices to alert appropriate personnelthat corrective actions should be taken to restore RF link 230.

In at least one embodiment, RF link 230 is used to communicate statusinformation regarding person support apparatus 122, voice signalsbetween an occupant of person support apparatus 122 and a remotecaregiver, and environmental room control signals. In the event RF link230 becomes inoperable, wireless communication module 134 utilizes IRlink 232 to transmit only high priority signals. In one such embodiment,only the audio signals are considered high priority. In at least oneother embodiment, only the audio signals and an exit detection alertsignal are considered high priority. In still other embodiments, stillother signals are considered high priority. In such situations, thosesignals that are not considered high priority are not transmittedbetween wireless communication module 134 and fixed locator unit 190.

In another alternative embodiment, RF spectrum analyzer 36 and/or packetsniffer 38 are incorporated into devices other than person supportapparatuses 22. For example, in one such embodiment, one or more of thefixed locator wall units 190 include an RF spectrum analyzer 36 and/or apacket sniffer 38. When so incorporated into a fixed locator wall unit190, the RF spectrum analyzer 36 detects the magnitude of signals overone or more RF frequency ranges and the packet sniffer 38 detects anypackets within the vicinity of pack sniffer 38, regardless of thedestination and/or source of the packets. The RF spectrum data and/orpacket data is then reported to person support apparatus 22 (such as viaone of links 230, 232, and/or 234; FIG. 8) and/or to person supportapparatus server 64 (such as via radio 220 communicating directly withone or more access points 28). The reported data also includes dataindicating the location of the fixed locator unit 190 so that thereceiving entity is able to correlate the data with a location withinfacility 26.

It will be understood that the use of the term “transceiver” herein isintended to cover not only devices that include a transmitter andreceiver contained within a single unit, but also devices having atransmitter separate from a receiver, and/or any other devices that arecapable of both transmitting and receiving signals or messages. It willalso be understood that, although wireless communication module 134 hasbeen described herein as including an RF spectrum analyzer and/or apacket sniffer, such an RF spectrum analyzer and/or packet sniffer mayalternatively be incorporated into fixed locator unit 190. When soincorporated, the gathered RF spectrum data and/or packet data is eithertransmitted to support apparatus server 64 via a WiFi link between units190 and one or more access points 28, or it is transmitted to anadjacent person support apparatus 122, which may, in turn, forward thedata to server 64.

Various additional alterations and changes beyond those alreadymentioned herein can be made to the above-described embodiments. Thisdisclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not beinterpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments or to limitthe scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated ordescribed in connection with these embodiments. For example, and withoutlimitation, any individual element(s) of the described embodiments maybe replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similarfunctionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes,for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those thatmight be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternativeelements that may be developed in the future, such as those that oneskilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative.Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using thearticles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limitingthe element to the singular.

What is claimed is:
 1. A person support apparatus system comprising: afixed locator unit mounted to a wall of a healthcare facility; and aperson support apparatus adapted to support a person thereon; whereinthe fixed locator unit comprises: (a) an RF spectrum analyzer configuredto detect RF spectrum data for a set of communication channels; (b) afirst transceiver adapted to communicate with the person supportapparatus using infrared communications; (c) a nurse-call port adaptedto couple to a connector of a nurse call system; (d) a first controlleradapted to forward first audio signals received from the person supportapparatus to the nurse-call port and to forward second audio signalsreceived from the nurse-call port to the person support apparatus suchthat a person supported on the person support apparatus is able toaurally communicate via the nurse call system with a caregiverpositioned remotely from the person support apparatus; wherein the firstcontroller is further adapted to communicate the RF spectrum data to theperson support apparatus; and wherein the person support apparatuscomprises: (i) a support surface configured to support a person; (ii) anactuator configured to move a component of the person support apparatus;(iii) a second transceiver adapted to communicate with the firsttransceiver using infrared communications; (iv) a third transceiveradapted to wirelessly communicate using at least one channel within theset of communication channels; and (v) a second controller adapted touse the RF spectrum data to control operation of the third transceiver.2. The person support apparatus system of claim 1 wherein the personsupport apparatus further includes a fourth transceiver and the secondcontroller is adapted to use the fourth transceiver to wirelesslycommunicate with a wireless access point of a healthcare facilitycomputer network.
 3. The person support apparatus system of claim 2wherein the fourth transceiver is adapted to forward the RF spectrumdata to a server hosted on the healthcare facility computer network. 4.The person support apparatus system of claim 3 wherein the personsupport apparatus is one of a bed, stretcher, or a chair.
 5. The personsupport apparatus system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum dataincludes a signal strength for at least two RF channels.
 6. The personsupport apparatus system of claim 2 wherein the RF spectrum analyzer isfurther adapted to generate a latency estimate regarding communicationbetween the fourth transceiver and the wireless access point.
 7. Theperson support apparatus system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum dataincludes a data rate for at least one RF channel.
 8. The person supportapparatus system of claim 1 wherein the RF spectrum data includes asignal-to-noise ratio of wireless signals within the set ofcommunication channels.
 9. The person support apparatus system of claim1 wherein the fixed locator unit further includes a packet snifferadapted to detect packets transmitted to or from a wireless access pointof a healthcare facility computer network.
 10. The person supportapparatus system of claim 9 wherein the packet sniffer is furtheradapted to identify wireless devices on the healthcare facility computernetwork and forward a list of the identified wireless devices to atleast one of the person support apparatus or a server on the healthcarefacility computer network.
 11. A person support apparatus systemcomprising: a fixed locator unit mounted to a wall of a healthcarefacility; and a person support apparatus adapted to support a personthereon; wherein the fixed locator unit comprises: (a) a firsttransceiver adapted to communicate with the person support apparatususing infrared communications; (b) a nurse-call port adapted to coupleto a connector of a nurse call system; (c) a first controller adapted toforward first audio signals received from the person support apparatusto the nurse-call port and to forward second audio signals received fromthe nurse-call port to the person support apparatus such that a personsupported on the person support apparatus is able to aurally communicatevia the nurse call system with a caregiver positioned remotely from theperson support apparatus; and wherein the person support apparatuscomprises: (i) a support surface configured to support a person; (ii) anactuator configured to move a component of the person support apparatus;(iii) a second transceiver adapted to communicate with the firsttransceiver using infrared communications; (iv) an RF spectrum analyzerconfigured to detect RF spectrum data for a set of communicationchannels; (v) a third transceiver adapted to wirelessly communicateusing at least one channel within the set of communication channels; and(v) a second controller adapted to use the RF spectrum data to controloperation of the third transceiver.
 12. The person support apparatussystem of claim 11 wherein the fixed locator unit is further adapted totransmit location data to the person support apparatus via the firsttransceiver.
 13. The person support apparatus system of claim 12 whereinthe person support apparatus further includes a fourth transceiver andthe second controller is adapted to wirelessly communicate with awireless access point of a healthcare facility computer network usingthe fourth transceiver, and wherein the second controller is furtheradapted to transmit the location data to a server hosted on thehealthcare facility computer network using the fourth transceiver. 14.The person support apparatus system of claim 13 wherein the secondcontroller is further adapted to forward the RF spectrum data to theserver hosted on the healthcare facility computer network.
 15. Theperson support apparatus system of claim 11 wherein the person supportapparatus is one of a bed, stretcher, or a chair.
 16. The person supportapparatus system of claim 11 wherein the RF spectrum data includes asignal strength for at least two RF channels.
 17. The person supportapparatus system of claim 13 wherein the RF spectrum analyzer is furtheradapted to generate a latency estimate regarding communication betweenthe fourth transceiver and the wireless access point.
 18. The personsupport apparatus system of claim 11 wherein the RF spectrum dataincludes a signal-to-noise ratio of wireless signals within the set ofcommunication channels.
 19. The person support apparatus system of claim11 wherein the fixed locator unit further includes a packet snifferadapted to detect packets transmitted to or from a wireless access pointof a healthcare facility computer network.
 20. The person supportapparatus system of claim 19 wherein the packet sniffer is furtheradapted to identify wireless devices on the healthcare facility computernetwork and forward a list of the identified wireless devices to aserver on the healthcare facility computer network.